betrachtevsbetrachtetTell them apart

Which to use

“betrachte” and “betrachtet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,248
“betrachte” frequency rank
#2,138
“betrachtet” frequency rank
14386
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature betrachte betrachtet
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs betrachten 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs betrachten

Where the eye mixes betrachte and betrachtet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. betrachte runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCCV) against betrachtet's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
betrachte
10 ch
betrachtet

Why the eye confuses betrachte with betrachtet

A purely visual mix-up. betrachte ([bəˈtʁaxtə]) and betrachtet ([bəˈtʁaxtət]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “betrachte” sits inside “betrachtet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

betrachte is recorded at frequency rank #12,248, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁaxtə]. betrachtet is at rank #2,138, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁaxtət].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 14386, this pair ranks #1,951,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of betrachte vs betrachtet

Shared letters: abcehrt. Private to "betrachte": -. Private to "betrachtet": -.

"betrachte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV  ·  "betrachtet" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • betrachtebbetrachte · bertachte · betarchte · betracchte · betrachet · betrachhte · betracthe · betrahcte
  • betrachtetbbetrachtet · bertachtet · betarchtet · betracchtet · betrachett · betrachhtet · betrachtett · betrachtte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "betrachte" for "betrachtet" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈtʁaxtə] versus [bəˈtʁaxtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "betrachte" or "betrachtet" show up more?
"betrachtet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,138 in our German list, against #12,248 for "betrachte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "betrachte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "betrachtet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,951,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "betrachte" and "betrachtet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedachte vs betrachte". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,951,566 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list